MANKATO, Minn. — The weather was perfect Wednesday as the Vikings returned from their first training camp off-day, but leading quarterbacks Matt Cassel and Teddy Bridgewater mostly had an afternoon to forget.

Fans who packed the bleachers and VIP tents for the third consecutive full-padded practice watched the sausage making as coach Mike Zimmer nipped the effusive praise he had previously heaped on both sides of the ball.

Staggered competition accounted for some of the haphazard play as Zimmer and his staff scrutinize a 90-man roster of varyingly skilled reserves against first-team units.

Few will recall the details of late July once the regular season starts, but the lack of splashy plays made for one dull exhibition.

“We’ve got to get a look at some of these down-the-line guys against good people,” Zimmer explained. “It’s just evaluation. At some point in time, I’ll have the second defense go against the first offense and vice versa so that we can keep evaluating our guys.”

Cassel looked shaky from the get-go as Marcus Sherels intercepted a pass intended for Cordarrelle Patterson, who returned from a foot injury to participate in his first full practice.

Moments later, Xavier Rhodes dropped an eye-level interception as Cassel again tried to force a pass to Patterson, whose first training camp touch came later on a reverse that quickly fizzled.

Bridgewater opened 11-on-11 drills commanding the first-team offense and quickly completed a pair of passes. But he later struggled with timing and accuracy during hurry-up drills.

“He didn’t look quite as accurate as he had throughout the whole camp,” Zimmer said. “Again, I’m looking a lot on the defense.”

Over there, rookie linebacker Anthony Barr did not go unscathed.

“The only time I noticed him, he was late on the blitz and I talked to him about it,” Zimmer said.

Before practice, offensive coordinator Norv Turner declined to reveal how the team plans to delegate quarterback repetitions. But Cassel and Bridgewater clearly are putting more distance between themselves and Christian Ponder in the hierarchy.

“We will have these guys ready and they will have an opportunity to be prepared to compete for the job,” Turner said about the threesome. “Whoever ends up being the starting quarterback he will be ready to play on opening day. You can’t work three for a long time, so the reps will get divided up differently.”

Bridgewater looked sharp during Monday night’s brief scrimmage at Blakeslee Stadium, zipping a sideline pass to Greg Jennings for a long gain and deftly sidestepping pressure to complete several more passes during team drills.

“One of the things we like best about him is how he handles pressure,” Turner said about the rookie. “He’s been outstanding in all our work. He doesn’t look at the line. He feels it. He keeps his eyes up the field, and he makes throws with people around him, throws in real tight quarters. That’s one of the best things he’s done right now.”

Turner has coached Pro Bowl seasons out of quarterbacks Troy Aikman in Dallas and Philip Rivers in San Diego. Since 2007, his offenses have ranked among the NFL’s top five in points four times.

“I’ve been with a lot of different guys that have learned it. If you work hard at it, you learn it,” Turner said. “And (Bridgewater’s) working really hard at it.”

Whether Cassel retains the starting role or Bridgewater earns the No. 1 job, right tackle Phil Loadholt wants a commander in the huddle.

“What gives me the most confidence would be them being confident when they’re calling plays and going through their progressions,” Loadholt said. “If they’re comfortable back there running the offense, that makes me comfortable.”

Brian Murphy has been on the Pioneer Press sports staff since 2000, migrating from the Detroit Free Press, where he covered police, courts and sports for four years. Murphy was the Minnesota Wild/NHL beat writer from 2002 to 2008 and has covered the Vikings as a reporter and columnist since 2009. Murphy is a Detroit native and Wayne State University graduate.

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